As lawmakers puzzled over a recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion dismantling Florida's death-penalty sentencing processes, Orange-Osceola State Attorney Jeff Ashton offered his first public remarks on Thursday, anticipating the decision would have little impact on local capital cases.

"So, what [the justices] basically said is, 'Your statute has the potential to render a death sentence that is unconstitutional,' but that's going to be in a very rare set of circumstances," Ashton told reporters outside the downtown courthouse, referring to the Hurst v. Florida opinion that was handed down on Tuesday.

"We believe that even if the statutes were not to be changed, we can still proceed under the existing statute."

His comments came on the heels of the high court's 8-1 opinion finding that Florida's capital sentencing scheme — in which a jury makes an "advisory recommendation" to a judge, who then makes the final decision — violates the Sixth Amendment. While Ashton declared the ruling was narrow in its scope, the decision has left many with questions over how to proceed.

There are 22 inmates on death row from sentences handed down by judges in Orange and Osceola counties, according to Ashton's office.

Juries — not judges — should make the final decision on whether a defendant should be executed, wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Under the Florida...

By a vote of 8-1, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Florida's death penalty statute unconstitutional, ruling that it gave judges too much power.

Juries — not judges — should make the final decision on whether a defendant should be executed, wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Under the Florida...

(Rene Stutzman, Elyssa Cherney and Gray Rohrer)

His attorney did not raise the Hurst issue at the hearing, which had been previously scheduled for different matters.

But afterwards, Dean Mosley, who is representing Okafor, said he believes the decision will help convert his client's maximum punishment to life in prison instead of lethal injection.

"Any lawyer representing him on appeal would be committing malpractice not to use this," Mosley said.

Like the state's other criminal defense attorneys, Mosley must wait until the Florida Supreme Court and the Legislature clarify what changes could stem from Hurst.

Still, Mosley believes the ruling will help Okafor because he is just starting his appeals process and can raise the issue.

It remains unclear as to whether the Hurst decision applies to Florida's death row inmates who have exhausted their reviews.

Another issue is ongoing capital cases. There are currently seven death-penalty cases pending in Orange and Osceola counties.

"As to existing cases, since the court has oxnly found our process to be procedurally flawed and not substantively flawed, the courts have the authority to create new procedural rules to effect the will of the legislature in a constitutional manner," Ashton said in a statement.

Though Ashton believes he could move forward with the cases if he needed to, his attorneys will be urging judges to delay any capital cases until the legislative session ends in March.

Some other prosecutors agree that cases should be on hold due to the uncertainties.

In Volusia County, prosecutors have asked to postpone the upcoming trial of Luis Toledo, a gang member accused of killing his wife and her two children, in light of the high court's ruling. Toledo's trial is due to begin Tuesday in St. Augustine.

In a motion filed on Wednesday, prosecutors in the Toledo case asked for the trial continuance "to allow time for the issues raised in Hurst to be properly addressed."

They have requested a delay of 60 days, according to a spokesman from the 7th Judicial Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza's office, which is prosecuting the case.

The extra time is needed to ensure the death penalty remains on the table as questions swirl about whether Florida's statute is currently functional.

Defense attorneys for Toledo have opposed the delay, according to news reports. They insist the trial should move forward and that Toledo, if convicted, can receive only a maximum punishment of life in prison since Florida's law guiding a death sentence is now defunct.

Circuit Judge Raul A. Zambrano said he would issue his decision on Friday.

Exactly how broad the Hurst ruling is remains unclear.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling found Florida's death-penalty sentencing procedure unconstitutional because it gives too much power to the judge. A 12-person jury should be the only entity deciding whether a factual-basis has been met to impose the death penalty, the court held.

Under the past death-penalty sentencing scheme, a jury made an advisory recommendation, which the judge considered with "great weight." But the judge made the final call.

Jurors were required to submit in writing a recommendation of life in prison or death, but did not put on paper whether an aggravating circumstance justifying the death penalty was proven.

Ashton said the questions about whether a unanimous jury must impose the death penalty was not addressed in the Hurst ruling, adding that he wouldn't support a bill that required the condition.

Such a bill has already been filed in the Florida House and Senate.

"That particular bill, I think, honestly, is a death-penalty killer bill," Ashton said. "Its intention is to make the death penalty virtually impossible to obtain."